“Miss.”
Chase hurriedly followed after Lizelle as she ran down the hallway.
“Lizelle!”
Raphel’s voice echoed loudly down the hall, but Lizelle didn’t stop.
She clutched her aching chest and quickened her pace, desperate to escape.
Raphel’s cries grew distant and eventually faded away.
When his voice could no longer be heard, only the sound of two sets of footsteps echoed through the now-quiet hallway.
“Miss Wilhazelle.”
Chase called again, following closely behind her. Lizelle, however, didn’t seem to hear him.
Her mind was fixated on leaving the mansion as quickly as possible.
‘Why does this feel so painful when it’s not even a permanent goodbye?’
She couldn’t pinpoint the exact reason, but one thing was certain.
At some point, Raphelion had become very special to her.
After possessing ‘Wilhazelle Frosier’, she lived with the Baron and his wife as a part of their family, but she could not help but feel empty.
To her, they were simply ‘Wilhazelle’s parents’.
Despite their love for her, her lingering memories of her past life made it difficult to accept their sincerity in this unfamiliar world.
Then, one day, she met a child at a garbage dump.
Initially, her motivation was survival and money.
But as time passed, she found herself growing attached to him.
Perhaps it was because they shared a similar fate—both had lost their parents at a young age. Or maybe it was because Raphelion was the first person she connected with as her ‘true self’ in this new world.
For Lizelle, Raphelion was the first person she opened her heart to after her reincarnation, a friend that transcended age.
“Miss, wait for a moment.”
Chase, seeing Lizelle show no intention of stopping, quickened his pace.
Finally, he blocked her path. Lizelle, who had been fleeing with her head down, stopped abruptly as her view was obstructed.
“Look at me.”
He spoke to Lizelle in a soothing tone.
“…”
But Lizelle couldn’t lift her head. She had cried so much that she was sure her face was a mess.
‘I didn’t want to show this weak side of me to him…’
What would he think of her, crying like this in front of Raphelion and his biological family as if she were someone important?
After all, she was nothing to him, just a stranger.
Even to herself, she felt pathetic, bawling like this.
She didn’t want to appear weak in front of Chase.
“Are you alright?”
Chase wanted nothing more than to embrace Lizelle’s trembling shoulders.
Instead of crying alone, he wanted to let her cry in his arms.
He wanted to offer her a place to lean on, as many times as she needed.
But he knew he couldn’t. Such a move would surely startle her.
It was only natural.
Their feelings were different. His feelings were one-sided.
“You might irritate your eyes. Please use this.”
Seeing Lizelle hurriedly wiping away her tears with her sleeve, Chase held out a handkerchief again.
He was glad he had prepared an extra handkerchief.
“…I’m fine.”
Lizelle answered in a hoarse voice mixed with tears.
Chase frowned at her refusal and forced the handkerchief into her hand.
“Take it. Please.”
Unable to simply wipe away her tears himself, this was all he could do.
Looking at her with pleading eyes, his gaze fell on her exposed shoulder.
Until now, her long hair had hidden it, but her dress was torn.
It must have ripped earlier when Raphel clung to her, refusing to let go.
Beneath the torn fabric, her white skin was marred with red streaks and faint scratches.
Tiny droplets of blood marked where her skin had been grazed, likely from Rohan’s attempt to pull Raphel away.
“Does it hurt?”
Chase carefully draped his jacket over Lizelle’s shoulders to cover the torn dress, moving slowly so as not to startle her.
“I’m fine.”
Lizelle said again, clutching the handkerchief tightly. Her tears, once pouring like a faucet, were finally stopping.
“You’ll need to apply some medicine.”
She still kept her head lowered, refusing to show her face.
Chase stared at her with concern before speaking again.
“Could you spare a moment?”
He wanted to treat her injuries, but more than that, he needed to talk to her.
At Chase’s suggestion, Lizelle nodded silently.
“There’s another room nearby.”
Chase guided her there. Lizelle followed quietly, her steps hesitant.
Lizelle entered the room first and sat down on the large sofa.
She took a deep breath while waiting for Chase to come back with the water and disinfectant.
As she calmed her raging emotions, the tears gradually stopped.
She couldn’t remember the last time she cried this much.
Lizelle wiped her tear-streaked cheeks with the handkerchief. Her face felt rough.
She had cried for so long her eyes were obviously swollen.
Glancing around for a mirror, she sighed when she found none.
“Haah…”
The crying had drained her, leaving her body heavy and weak.
Lizelle leaned back against the sofa, staring blankly at the room.
This would be her last day in the mansion.
Parting with Raphel was unbearably sad, but at least she would finally be able to pay off her father’s debt.
It wasn’t a debt she had incurred herself, but having inhabited Wilhazelle’s body, she felt obligated to settle it.
Still, she had gained a dear friend and experienced joy she hadn’t thought possible.
It was only the farewell that was painful…
As her tears dried, Lizelle felt a surge of embarrassment.
‘…Did I really cry like that in front of Duke Chase?’
Thinking back, she bit her lip in embarrassment.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake…”
Of all people, it had to be him…
Would he use this against her, teasing her endlessly?
She wished she could disappear into a hole.
As she was kicking the sofa, the face of her parents, who would be surprised to see her swollen eyes, came to mind.
“I shouldn’t surprise them.”
It was obvious they would be worried something happened.
When she told them she would be staying at the Duke’s residence for a month, her father even shed tears.
Lizelle quickly picked up the fist-sized crystal sculpture placed on the table and rested it near her eyes.
The cold crystal cooled the swelling.
But soon she had to put the sculpture down again when she heard the door opening.
“Please drink some water.”
Chase put the tray in his hand down in front of Lizelle.
On the silver tray was a cup of water, an ice pack, and disinfectant.
He could have sent a servant to fetch everything, but he went himself was to give her time to compose herself.
“Thank you.”
Her throat was parched from all the crying, so she gulped the water down.
“We need to disinfect the wound first.”
At his words, Lizelle instinctively touched her neck and shoulder.
She could feel the raised and scratched skin on her fingertips.
She didn’t even know that Raphel’s fingernails had broken her skin and caused her to bleed.
As the sting of the wound registered, she grabbed the antiseptic from the tray.
“Is there a mirror?”
“I’ll help you.”
“No, I’ll do it myself.”
In response to the firm refusal, Chase slumped his shoulders and held out the mirror that was on the dresser.
Lizelle shrugged off his jacket, pulled aside the torn fabric, and inspected the wound.
Her bold movements made Chase turn away abruptly.
“I’ll step out.”
His ears were red.
“There’s no need for that.”
Lizelle calmly looked in the mirror and applied disinfectant to the red wound without even giving him a glance.
Chase, unable to resist sneaking a glance, quickly averted his eyes again.
Even the smallest of her gestures seemed provocative to him, leaving him flustered.
Meanwhile, as Lizelle tended to her wound, she thought of Raphel’s desperate attempts to cling to her. Tears welled up again.
She blinked them back, determined to finish the treatment.
“Are you feeling better now?”
Chase asked, still averting his gaze.
“Yes, I think so…”
Lizelle replied, fidgeting with her fingers. Remembering how she had cried in front of him earlier made her cringe with embarrassment.
“You must be very attached to my nephew.”
“Who wouldn’t be? He’s such a lovable child.”
Lizelle sniffled while answering, because of her runny nose.
She was holding it in somehow, but felt like her nose was going to start running at any moment.
She looked around for a tissue.
She thought it would be better to take care of it now than to have dirty snot drip from her nose while talking.
But all she could find were decorations.
She had no choice but to blow her nose into the handkerchief Chase had given her.
Startled, Chase lifted his head.
Lizelle, however, remained completely unbothered, calmly folding the handkerchief after using it.
“I’ll buy you a new one.”
Chase gazed at Lizelle blowing her nose with eyes swollen like a carp. He was smitten.
How could even the sight of blowing one’s nose be adorable? It was so cute his heart was pounding.
Even if he knew she didn’t care about him like that.
If Rohan saw what Chase looked like right now, he would be horrified and click his tongue.
He’d say Chase was making a big fuss over love, completely blinded by it.
